1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to wireless sensor networks, and more specifically relates to a system for monitoring environmental changes that utilizes a peer-to-peer network architecture for communicating information.
2. Related Art
Today, there exist numerous environmental-based public safety hazards, such as brush fires, bio-chemical accidents or attacks, etc. Obtaining real-time and accurate information about such a hazard can be critical to containing the hazard and minimizing damage.
Two broad challenges for dealing with such hazards include: (1) obtaining timely information at the site of the hazard; and (2) reliably communicating the information to a monitoring station. Current solutions for obtaining information such as satellite imaging or thermal sensors are not ideal for widespread use due to their high-cost and low-effectiveness. Often, data produced by current sensor solutions is unpredictable and is generated post incident. Accordingly, such data cannot be relied upon to make timely decisions about how to deal with the hazard.
Communicating the information collected by sensors can also be unpredictable since communication channels used to transmit the data may be affected by the hazard. In other words, if a critical communication node fails within a sensor network, critical information cannot be analyzed and acted upon in a timely fashion.
Numerous examples of sensor based detection systems currently exist. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,476 B1, “Early Warning System for Natural and Manmade Disasters,” issued to Flanagan on Jan. 2, 2001, describes a system for generating early warning signals via a network. U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,861 B1, Automatic Response Building Defense System and Method, issued to Berry on Sep. 25, 2001 describes a system for sensing hazardous contaminants near a building and taking some automated action. Both of the above references are incorporated by reference. Unfortunately, none of the prior art describes a robust wireless sensing system that can both obtain sensed data and transmit it in a cost effective and reliable manner. Accordingly, a need exists for such a system.